If you spend anytime around high school seniors, you can probably feel the tension building as students gear up to submit their applications before the upcoming early admissions deadlines. The anxiety is a natural response to the process, but part of keeping it in check is spending the time needed to review all of your work, including your Common App essays, several times before you submit your application. However, no matter how many times you think you've checked over your work, accidents do happen, and if they do, know that you're not alone, and there will be a way to resolve your problem!

Perhaps, you submitted the wrong draft of your essay, or worse yet, the Common App somehow did not save the newer version you pasted in and reverted to a past version of your draft, or part of your essay was cut off due to word limits and you didn't notice. It's always good to know your options in these cases, and where to turn for help. The Common App is very clear on its site about these types of issues. In short, there's nothing they can do:

"Once an application or writing supplement has been submitted to any institution, you cannot make any changes to it (just as if you had dropped it in the mail), and we are not permitted to make changes on your behalf. In general, the Common Application is designed to be completed one time and submitted to all of the colleges at once, or over a period of time. If you need to change information on a submitted application, you must contact the college's admission office directly to ask how they would like you to proceed."

Fortunately, college admissions offices are experienced in dealing with these types of issues and will have a straight forward way to rectify the situation, usually allowing you to email the appropriate version to a designated email address. That being said, definitely do your best to avoid this type of situation. It will definitely allow for a smoother, and more stress-free process!